Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 5: Seeking the publication of the draft Delimitation report in the official gazette alongwith the objections of the associate members as given by them in pursuance of December 20, 2021 meeting, Harsh Dev Singh Chairman, JKNPP and former minister said that it was a mandatory requirement as laid down in the relevant laws.
He said that the during the meeting of Delimitation Commission with the associate members held on December 20 last year, the said Commission had sought objections from the five associate members to its proposals before December 31, 2021. In pursuance of the said meeting, it was reported that the objections given by the associate members were rejected by the said Commission.
Singh said that the Commission was authorized to accept or reject the objections in terms of the provisions contained in the Delimitation Act read with the J&K Re-organization Act 2019. The said laws provided that the Associate members shall neither have the right to vote, nor to sign any decision of the Commission, he added.
Pointing towards sec-9 sub sec (2) clause (a) of Delimitation Act, NPP leader said that after preparation of draft report, the Commission was required to publish its proposals for Delimitation of constituencies together with dissenting proposals/objections, if any, of associate members, in the officials gazette. It was also required to specify a date on or before which the said proposals could be considered as laid down in clause (b) of the aforesaid section. And after the consideration of such objections, the final report was to be published in the gazette under sec-10 of the Act. The same provisions have been incorporated in sec-60 J&K Re-organization Act which further provides that the final report of the Commission shall not be called in question in any Court of law, Singh added.
Asserting that the submission of Delimitation report to associate members in the Parliament without publishing it in official gazette was in violation of sec-60 of J&K Re-organization Act and sec-9 of the Delimitation Act. Calling for early completion of the Delimitation exercise, Singh appealed to the Commission to ensure complete transparency in its functioning without succumbing to the dictates of any political party.
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